There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
We have our first year contender for video of the year. Although, despite the great concept, it could have been taken a little further as there are many classic albums Erykah Badu didn’t try recreating (someone really needs to do a rock version of this concept). But of the ones she did, Paid in Full has to be my favorite.
As Russ said about this song from Missy Higgins, “Get ready to hear Steer on every TV show in existence.” Well, maybe that would be the case if there were any actually television in the near future, but his sediment is point on with this catchy ditty. And the crash test dummy theme is brilliant.
Kanye West said he had a video coming up for Flashing Lights, I just never expected this was the outcome from some random dude by the name Colin Munroe. But the video is cool in a Bittersweet Symphony kind of way. You can also download this song for free from the dude’s MySpace page.
There is no more annoying holiday than Valentine’s Day. If you are coupled up, you have to fret with what you have to give them and if not you care constantly reminded foe a week how lonely you are. Whenever I fell in the latter category I would have a Valentines routine of playing Love Stinksby the J. Geils Band on a loop capped off with a showing of Swingers. Not so coincidentally Swingers is this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame.
Swinger completely sums up dudes in their twenties. Where most movies that try this end up being drug and sex romps with wild parties and unrealistic plot lines, Swingers hits every subtle nuance of the time. It is hard for any guy to watch the golf scene and think, “yeah, that’s exactly how I add up my strokes.” And the movie was the first film I remember that show guys sitting around playing video games that end up in blood both on and off the television.
The film is at its best when the guys are sitting around arguing about the most absurd things like how long you should wait to call a girl after getting her number (Industry Standard became an integral part of my vocabulary after the film). And they even nail the heartbreak of the end a long relationship and the buddies helping him get back on the horse again. Even the new dictions and the addiction to swing they invent for the film eventually doesn’t stand out while watching. Speaking of swing, I think this may be the last time a movie effectively shift pop music after its release, albeit for a short time.
Swinger also launched the careers of Jon Favreau, who also wrote the film, and Ron Livingston (Office Space). But the film really belonged to Vince Vaughn who, after trying to transition into a serious actor with range (seriously, the Psycho remake?) has finally embraced Trent and now only plays slight variations of him. C’mon, like you weren’t watching Wedding Crashers and thinking that was Trent a decade later. But the most astounding break out star of the film was Heather Graham who actual landed quality roles for a year after Swingers before people realized she couldn’t act.
I doubt anyone was actually reading back then(if you were you rule), but on my list of the Best Albums of 2005, topping that list was Wreck of the Day by Anna Nalick. My review for that album was so long ago, it was the fourth ever on the 9th Green, it even predated the Song to Download at the end of the review. It I had it back then, Catalyst would have been it. Many of you may have figured out that I love the uber depressing sad songs and there are not many sadder than this song. The crescendo at the end is just heartbreaking as her voice starts breaking as she goes into falsetto. No proper video for this song so I hope you like the Spike from Buffy The Vampire Slayer/Angel theme that I found on YouTube.
The reason I bring this song up now is because a new song from Anna hit the internet this week and Shine definitely stands up with anything on Wreck of the Day and is definitely more powerful than anything on that album. Someone has already made a really cool video for the song as seen below:
The line “There are times when the poets and porn stars align and you won’t know who to believe in, well that’s a good time to be leaving” is in early contention as the best lyric of 2008.
Just in case it is gone by the time the next 57 Channels comes around, recently Jo pointed out that Season 3 of Veronica Mars recently dropped below $20 recently. In fact all seasons are on the cheap. Sometimes these sales last a month, sometimes a week or less so check the ads below to see if they are still at bargain bin prices.
If you rock out in your minivan to Daughtry or whatever your local Clearchannel adult contemporary station makes you believe constitutes as rock these days, you probably have never heard of Vampire Weekend. The band is the latest internet buzz band that is declared by the holier than you music blogs as the next big thing. Of course, keep in mind none of the previous next big things actually became big.
Of course, much like Daughtry, it is hard pressed to call Vampire Weekend a rock band in the sense of U2 or The Clash, but are better classified under nerd rock after all the band met each other when they were attending Columbia (yeah they are smarter than you and don’t seem to mind letting you think that). They would have been a perfect fit for 120 Minutes or college radio in the late eighties put in-between They Might Be Giants and Violent Femmes.
Vampire Weekend’s self titled debut album sound as if They Might Be Giants tried to be a little more serious by listening to Paul Simon’s Graceland and early The Police on repeat for a whole year. Sure there is some quirkiness still in tack thanks to name dropping Lil’ Jon and Peter Gabriel while rhyming together Louis Vuitton, Reggaeton, Bennetton and really all you need to know about One is the subtitle is Black’s Got a New Face which you will be singing along with eventually if you listen to it enough.
But there is a musicianship on the album that was lacking in many college rock acts which is mostly what kept them on college radio and off the mainstream stations. The problem though is the album starts dragging near the end which isn’t good for an album just over a half an hour long. But, hey, it is much longer before Daughtry starts to get grating (which is only about five seconds).
Sorry, this contest has ended and the winner has been contacted. If you are still interested winning the DVD, you can check out the Dirt contest Tube Talk Girl is running that does not end until Friday.
In just over a month (Sunday, March 2 at 10:00 on FX to be exact) Dirt returns for its second season and for those who would like to relive the first season or would like to check it out for the first time with the lack of scripted shows dwindling I am giving away the Complete First Season of Dirt on DVD. There are three ways to enter:
1. The show is about a tabloid, which real life tabloid king or queen would you like to make a cameo on the show?
2. Or which tabloid king or queen would you like to see stricken from all the magazines in the supermarket checkout aisles?
3. Mention and link this contest on a blog or message board. (Any link must be posted at least 48 hours before the conclusion of the contest and only one link per message board or blog; feel free to use the badge to the right).
You can e-mail your entries to ScooterKSU(at)aol(dot)com (subject: Dirt). If you link the contest, make sure you let me know you did in your e-mail where so you get credited with an entry. You may enter the contest up to three times (once each way). The contest ends Monday, February 11 at 11:59 PM EST. The winner will be picked at random from all eligible entries and will be contacted shortly after. Also this contest is only open to people with shipping addresses in the Untied States. And if you win you will have two to three weeks to review or catch up on the show before the premiere in March. Here is what you can expect on the DVD in terms of features:
- Available Subtitles: English - Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) - All 13 episodes from the 2007 season on four discs - Celebrity Couple Gets Dirty - Through a Lens, Darkly - Tabloid Wars: Totally true stories from the celebrity trenches - Deleted scenes
You can also double your chances of winning, you can check out Tube Talk Girl who is running the same contest. If you do not win and still want to catch up, you can download the first season of Dirt on iTunes or Amazon Unbox or buy the DVD below. Be sure to look out here for more on Dirt as the season premiere approaches.
Quote of the Week: I’m afraid that I may have to send my 95 year old mother over and wash Chuck’s mouth out with soap. (John McCain, responding to Norris’ comment that he is too old to be president)
Big News of the Week: It Is Bitterly Cold: No seriously, when is this global warming stuff supposed to kick in?
Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:
Bonus Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:
Coalition Links of the Week:
Buzz shared tons of stories from the Freaks and Geeks reunion in San Francisco. (BuzzSugar)
Sandie interviewed Sophia Myles who plays Beth Turner on Moonlight (Daemon's TV)
Liz watched writers from The Daily Show and The Colbert Report stage a hilarious mock debate on the strike. (Glowy Box)
Fergus looked at five shows that never made it to the airwaves, much to our disappointment. (Pop Vultures)
To kick off the Adopt A Writer project Kelley interviewed Jasmine Love, a writer with credits from Moesha, The Division, and The District. (RTVW)
Vance is going to miss Betty and Chuck during the strike hiatus. (Tapeworthy)
Jace was all about British TV this week, from an advance look at Torchwood's second season opener to the awe-inspiring finale of Life on Mars. (Televisionary)
Dan had some misgivings about Carson Kressley's tepid new show How to Look Good Naked. (TiFaux)
Raoul interviewed Rachel and TK from The Amazing Race. (TV Filter)
South Carolina Debates: Who better to host in a debate sponsored by the Black Caucus on Martin Luther King Day than Wolf Blitzer. And did they seriously ask Barack Obama on MLK if Bill Clinton was the first black president. Were in the middle of two wars, at the start of a recession, heating bills are through the roof, and these are the types of questions they are wasting? I would have said John Edwards won the debate for pointing out the real issues after Obama and Hilary Clinton sparred for ten minutes on the stupid Ronald Regan question, but he started going negative later too. There was so much mudslinging I had to take a shower after it was over. And did I hear correctly that Hilary was on the board at Wal-Mart. After some research it looks like Clinton sat on the board of Wal-Mart from 1986-1992, so if you vote for Hilary you are un-American because Wal-Mart is the evil empire. Oh and guess who had their picture taken with the slum lord, that they attacked Obama for working with. Yep, both the Clintons have.
And looks like Hilary’s opponents are finally talking what will help them the most, The Big “E” electability. Obama said that in a general election, all of her supporters would support him, but not all of his supports would not necessarily vote for her in a national election. Which gets at a bigger notion that after all the race baiting the Clintons have done lately, if she is the nominee could the blacks stay home or even consider voting for a Republican? This could be possible if Mike Huckabee, who openly courted the group as governor and who social programs help and the lone Republican who participated in the Martin Luther King day festivities, is on the ticket (albeit it would most likely be on the bottom of the ticket).
John Edwards also pointed out this week that he would beat John McCain in a national election where Hilary would get trounced by McCain head to head. Okay this is a silly assertion considering such a vote is still ten months away and polls are generally stupid. Although after the New Hampshire polls debacle, the media unveiled a new polling devise this week, the Keith Number which is the margin of error plus the percentage of undecided. For instance, the Keith Number in yesterday’s South Carolina primary was 16, which is pretty worthless.
Chuck: Much like My Name Is Earl a couple weeks ago it was hard to get into the show knowing it was the first and last episodes that we will see for a couple months. Not to mention the hour gap in-between and it has been over a month since the last episode. Speaking of that last episode, wasn’t the lasting image was Casey being told that they will soon dispose of Chuck with the new intersect getting close to being replace? That wasn’t addressed at all this week. As for stuff that actually happened, the first was definitely better with the Casey-centric theme with his ex resurfacing. Although did I miss when she explained how she survived the blast? Seems like a gaping hole to the plot.
Oh, and one more thing, Morgan still needs to die a horrible death sooner than later. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.
Florida Republican Debate: Maybe the most boring yet. I never thought I would say it but I miss Fred Thompson. You know he would hade gone after somebody during the ask another candidate portion where everyone else went softball. Although a thought of a Chuck Norris vs. Sylvester Stallone debate would be great. If only Saturday Night Live was still on. That sketch writes itself.
Friday Night Lights: Now that the rape/murder plotline has been cleared up, it looks like the Riggins/meth dealer plotline has replaced it as the please end as soon as possible plotline. What is worse is that every time I think it is over, the creepy dude just shows up out of nowhere. At least the volleyball stuff was thoroughly enjoyable. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com.
Promo of the Week:
Next Week’s Pick: Lost at 9:00 on ABC: The highs and lows of this show are well telegraphed with an amazing first season the sputtered to a boring finale and the show really hasn’t gotten back on track for a long period of time since. The third season ender looked like it was going down with the same tedium as the first until the jaw dropping twist of the flash-forward. Granted, despite the faithful that try to tell you otherwise, a hundred and ten minutes of dullness, plus a mind blowing ending still doesn’t make for a great episode. Not that I will stop watching. Yet. Get caught up with the show by downloading the free videos from iTunes with the banner below or just tune in an hour before the premiere with a recap show.
). But the film really belonged to Vince Vaughn who, after trying to transition into a serious actor with range (seriously, the 
and thinking that was Trent a decade later. But the most astounding break out star of the film was Heather Graham who actual landed quality roles for a year after Swingers before people realized she couldn’t act.
/
theme that I found on YouTube.
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on my 
or buy the DVD below. Be sure to look out here for more on Dirt as the season premiere approaches.
